Window-cleaner.



No. 7|a,|57. Patented Dec. 16, I902.

c. A. WHEELER.

WINDOW CLEANER.

(Application filed Apr. '7, 1902.)

(No Model.)

WITNESSES: INVENTOR RRrs PETERS cc. PHom-uwm WASHINGTON n c UNITEDSTATES PATENT EEICE.

WIN DOW -CLEAN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 716,157, dated December16, 1902.

Application filed April '7, 1902.

To aIZZ whom/it may concern:

Beitknown thatLOARRIEAeNEs WHEELER,

a citizen of the United States, residing in Albany, in the county ofAlbany, in the State of 5 New York, have invented a certain new anduseful Improvement in Window-Cleaners, of which the following is aspecification.

Myimproved apparatus is adapted for washing the exterior faces of thesashes, both upper and lower, while the operator stands and works thedevice in the interior of the building. The parts are portable, and oneset will serve for a great variety of sizes and styles of windows.

I adapt the carrier, which aids to effect the cleaning, to run up anddown on a guide, with means for operating it. The guide is a part of aframe with two divergent arms, which can be easily dismembered, andwhich frame when adjusted for use presents what I term a hook, fittingover the upper edge of the sash, so that its weight is supportedthereon,

with room for changing the position to a lim ited degree both in thevertical and in the horizontal planes. I provide two different cleaningdevices, which maybe, respectively, a brush and a wiper set at an anglein a carrier which is by a cord coacting with gravity moved up and downon the guide-arm on the outside of the sash, and by changing theposition of the frame by acting on the arm on the inner side of the sashI change the hori-.

zontal angle, so that either one or the other is applied against theglass and alsovary at will the force with which it is pressed thereonand becomes efiective.

The following is a description of what I consider the best means ofcarrying out the invention.

The accompanying drawings form a part of this specification.

Figure l is a side elevation with the sash shown in vertical section. Inthis figure the handle is in position for use. Fig. 2 is an elevation atright anglesto theview in Fig. 1 with the handle removed. The remainingfigures represent portions on a larger scale. Fig. 3 is a sideelevation, partly in central vertical section, showing the fountain andvalve on a larger scale. Fig. 4. is a corresponding plan View. Fig. 5 isa plan View of Serial No. 101,659. (No model.)

the washing and wiping device, with a horizontal section of a portion ofthe upright guide along which it is reciprocated. This is on a stilllarger scale. Fig. 6 is a side elevation corresponding to the adjacentportion in Fig. 1, showing a modification.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures where they appear.

A is a tube, of gas-pipe or other suitable material, having a slot (1,extending longitudinally a great portion or the whole of its length.

A is a head or crotch adapted to hook over the top of the sash and torest steadily thereon, allowing for all the usual differences inthickness of different sashes. A socket ain the head A is adapted toreceive a rod 0, which may be of hard wood equipped to serve as ahandle. Its end is adapted to be inserted in the socket a and removed,as required, in adapting the device for use or for storage.

D is a carrier adapted to move easily up and down in the slotted tube Aand having a thin web D extending out through theslot a and engaged atits outer end with a pair of clamps D D operated by a screw E, so thatthey may strongly engage the body of a brush G. Attached to the samecarrier and set at a sufficiently different angle is a pair of clamps Doperated by a screw F, adapted to engage a wiper H.

The upper side of the clamp D holding the brush, is adapted to receivewater and to deflect it toward the bristles. Water being supplied. atshort intervals, as will presently appear, the brush is kept thoroughlywetted while the washing is being performed.

M is a water vessel mounted in the head or hook A and having an aperutremin the bottom stopped by a conical valve P, the body of which ispreferably made of soft metal cast on a straight wire P. The wire rod ofthis valve extends up through'a corresponding small hole m in theclose-fitting cover M.

Q is a plug stopping a larger hole in the cover M. I

The water vessel M is so set that the car rier when drawn upwardsufficiently strikes the lower end of the conical valve P and lifting itlets down water onto the inclined top of IOO the clamp, from whence itis distributed through the brush. A cord I, attached to the carrier D,leads up the slotted tube A and, being guided over a deeply-groovedpulley J, extends down to the operator, who may hold the cord in onehand and operate it, alternately pulling and releasing it while sheholds the handle with the other hand. The operator can see perfectly atall stages how the work is proceeding and may draw the brush forciblyupward against the valve and receive a fresh accession of Water from thereservoir M either at each rise of the brush or at convenient intervals,as it is judged expedient.

A coarse sponge B introduced in the hook A forms a cushion to soften thecontact of the frame with the upper edge of the sash.

- Either with or without such cushion the device may be turnedhorizontally, so as to present either the brush G or the wiper H to theouter surface of the glass and allow the operating of the device toalternately wash and wipe the window. Drawing the handle inward into theroom presses the wiper or the brush more forcibly against the glass,while moving the handle downward and outward toward the window removesboth devices from the glass and allows the apparatus to be lifted offand transferred to another window, or, taking care to have thewater-reservoir M previously emptied, the device may be laid on its sideand the handle 0 unshipped, so that it will occupy but a small spacewhen. standing in a corner or otherwise put away for subsequent use.

It will be understood that the water may be supplied to the reservoir MWhile the device is in the upright position either by lifting the coverM or by removing the plug Q and introducing the water through asufficient orifice thus presented and reinserting the plug. The wipermay be removed and exchanged at short intervals by operating the screwF.

In any case where the device does not allow the washer and the wiper totraverse to the bottom of the sash the whole of the lower pane or thelower edge thereof can usually be reached with facility from below bythe hand and Washed and wiped in the ordinary way.

The unshipping handle is an important member of the combination notonlybecause it allows the device to be, packed in smaller compass forstorage and transportation, but also, and more important, because itfacilitates the application of the device to the windows and its removaltherefrom.

The wiperH maybe of anysuitable form of flexible soft rubber stripproperly held in a body or holder.

Modifications may be made without departing from the principle orsacrificing theadvantages of the invention. The socket a, in which thehandle is set, may be screw-threaded and the handle correspondinglyformed. Such is indicated in Fig. 6.

The dimensions and proportions of the apparatus may be varied withinwide limits.

The handle may be set at Various angles. I prefer for general work aboutthe angle shown, say thirty degrees. However set, it allows the washingor wiping action to be performed on the outer face of the glass withvarying force, according as the handle is moved toward or from thewindow. All the manipulations can be performed with ease while theoperator stands on the floor of the apartment.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a window-cleaning apparatus, a guideAhaving a hook A at its upper end, in combination with a carrier Dmovable along such guide having an attached cleaning device and with thecord I and pulley J arranged to aid in reciprocating these parts, and abandle O rigidly connected to the hook at an angle, all arranged forjoint operation substantially as herein specified.

2. In a window-cleaning apparatus, a guide A having a hook A at itsupper end, in combination with a carrier D adapted to travel along suchguide with an attached cleaning device, the cord I and pulley J servingwith gravity for reciprocating these parts, and a handle 0 rigidlyconnected to such hook at an angle, said hook having a socket forreceiving said handle at will, all substantially as herein specified.

3. In a Window-washer, having a carrierl) and means for raising it, thewater-reservoir M having a valve P in its base, with its lower endprojecting into the path of the carrier, substantially as hereinspecified.

In testimony that I claim the invention above set forth I affix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

C. AGNES WHEELER.

Witnesses:

J. B. OLAUTIoE, M. F. BOYLE.

